Growing fruits and vegetables with no soil? No problem — just add water — or air

TOWER GARDEN

Growing backyard fruits and vegetables used to mean clearing out a patch of land, preparing the soil, spending hours digging, planting, fertilizing, watering and then tending a garden for several months before reaping the reward of a crop.

Some people love the work, the communing with nature; lucky ones also have the room to grow fresh produce. But when space is tight, how can people grow their own natural, wholesome fruits and vegetables?

There are two possible answers: hydroponic or aeroponic gardening — no soil is needed.

These growing trends have been around for years, but dwindling space, higher produce prices and the mystery of what goes into commercial production of food have people turning to such alternative, food-growing options.

Hydroponic gardening is basically growing plants with their roots submerged in liquid nutrient solutions instead of soil. Aeroponics grows plants in an air chamber, where the roots are lightly misted with nutrients.

“As long as the plants have nutrients, they can grow and even be potentially healthier plants,” said FrankMcDonough, the plant information consultant for the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.

Modern-day hydroponic growing systems allow plants to be grown in smaller spaces using such easily accessible materials as plastic tubs, net pots, aquarium stones and air pumps, he said.

“You find them installed in a lot of high-end structures and in cities like New York,” McDonough continued. “Here in Southern California, they can need quite a bit more water because of evaporation, but they can also be grown indoors, which will cut way down on that.”

Complete hydroponic growing systems can be bought, mainly online, for several hundred dollars, however, there are many simple do-it-yourself YouTube videos that take the beginner through step-by-step instructions for a fraction of the cost.

Advertisement

McDonough said he is acutely aware of the issues of mass-produced produce and has been seeing an increasing trend in home growers.

Hydroponics “is big across the world right now,” he said. “I believe we’ll see more and more produce being home grown. In the near future, I don’t think anyone will have to go more than a couple of blocks for fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Aeroponics was developed in 1970s Italy at the University of Pisa by Franco Massantini, according to www.thinairgrowingsystems.com. The roots of the plants are suspended in the air and regularly misted with nutrients.

Juice Plus, a Tennessee-based company best known for its nutritional supplements, sells the Tower Garden, a 5-foot-tall, vertical aeroponic growing system for up to 20 plants, including beans, broccoli, chard, lettuce, peas, squash, strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes and a variety of others.

The Tower Garden (www.towergarden.com) has a base for nutrient-filled water that is pumped up through the tower. A timer then allows it to rain down into the individual cups, bathing the plant roots, for several minutes each hour. The liquid is then recycled.

“Roots are not constantly submerged in water,” said Karen Jones of Laguna Beach, the West Coast regional director for Juice Plus. “This is a closed system, very sustainable; no water is evaporating. It grows more flavorful fruits and vegetables a lot faster than conventional gardening.

“The University of Mississippi did studies of aeroponics and found it had a 30 percent more yield with nutritional value equal to organically grown produce,” she added.

Terry Geiling encountered a Tower Garden at a friend’s house about a year ago. Though a bit pricey at around $500 each, Geiling bought one to see if it would be a good fit for the American Gold Star Manor, an assisted living residence in Long Beach.

“I knew it was a good thing the moment I saw it,” said Geiling, who is president and CEO of American Gold Star Manor. “So many of our residents like to garden, but just aren’t able to anymore.”

To date, the Tower Garden has done well, Geiling said.“We’ve grown tomatoes, chard, cucumbers, herbs, some flowers — I like to mix it up,” he said. “Growing their own produce would help our residents cut down on their grocery bills, plus they like to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.”